Warrior, Wanderer
by Ascanius
Summary: Sequel to Fighting Spirit. Buffy accepts a job from Heihachi Mishima to find his grandson. As secrets unravel, Buffy will discover something that threatens to rock the Slayers to their very foundation.
1. Chapter I

**To my regular readers: **Just a diversion, I assure you.

**To first-time readers:** Check out my other stories (including my main one, the continuing 'Urbs...' story.

The television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all related characters and materials belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and UPN. Tekken and all characters related are properties of Namco Ltd.

* * *

Buffy sat in the office, dressed to the nines in a professional business suit and sipping tea from an elegant, and expensive, teacup. Normally, she dealt with people and things that had little in the way of the kind of stature she saw in her host, so it was more than surprising when he had contacted The Watchers' Council requesting a meeting with her in private. Needless to say, she was a bit anxious.

"How is the tea, my dear?"

"It's good," she replied, "_Really_ good. But I doubt you called me here for a discussion on tea flavors, sir."

"Right you are, Ms. Summers."

"Mr. Mishima, pardon me for being frank, but how did you find me? For that matter, how did you know about my special… occupation?"

"Ms. Summers, I run one of _the_ largest corporations in the world and have access to things you can't even imagine. If I want something, I can acquire it, with the exception of what I want to hire you for."

"I don't do contract work, sir. I'm not for sale."

"But this is 'right up your alley', as they say in America."

"How so?"

"My grandson disappeared a few years ago. I've been searching for him since then, but with no luck."

"And what does all this have to do with me? Why not call Interpol or something?"

"Because my grandson has something evil inside of him, like his father did. I am unsure as to what its purpose is or what it is capable of, but I fear for the world if it isn't stopped."

"So why contact me? There are plenty of Slayers in Japan who could help out."

"Yes, but I want the best. And I always try to acquire the best. In return for your services, Ms. Summers, I will pay your organization most handsomely."

An awkward silence filled the room.

"Alright then, Mr. Mishima, I'll do this. But if this is a scam or something, I won't be pleased at all."

"I assure you it isn't, Ms. Summers. Here is the man you're looking for." Heihachi withdrew a picture from a folder and handed it to Buffy.

Buffy looked at the picture as she held it in her hand. She drew from a memory long ago as she traced the face in her mind. It was familiar, something that tried to force itself to the surface. It was then that she remembered; it was the image of one of the men she saw fighting in an alley in Seoul years ago.

"Something wrong, Ms. Summers?"

"No…no, just getting a good look at the picture."

"His name is Jin Kazama. I would exercise caution when dealing with him."

"Mr. Mishima, with all due respect, if you know about me then you know I can handle myself."

"True. But keep in mind that while you are stronger than Jin, he holds something within him that is virtually unknown. That, coupled with the fighting skills taught to him by his mother and myself, makes him a formidable opponent."

"You trained him?"

"Yes, for four years in Mishima-style Karate. He learned Judo from his mother."

"Where is she now?"

"She died when he was fifteen. His father died before he was born."

Buffy looked at the picture and felt a pang of pity for the man. He was all alone in a world that had seemingly been cruel to him. But the feeling of pity soon passed; if Jin was carrying evil within him and posed a danger to others, then it was her job to put a stop to it… before anything terrible happened.

"This is all the intel you have on him?"

"Yes. When you've acquired him, bring him to this location." Heihachi handed her a slip of paper.

"Alright then. Good day to you, Mr. Mishima," she said as she bowed.

"And to you too, Ms. Summers," Heihachi said as he bowed in return. With that, the blond Slayer left the elderly man's presence. But out of the shadows of the office came a figure dressed in black from head to toe, thin and slightly pale.

"You really think she can acquire your grandson, sir?" he asked.

"Who cares?" Heihachi replied. "I just needed a legitimate excuse for the Slayer to be here and away from her organization so we can start the final phases of our operation. Is everything set?"

"The teams are ready, sir," the pale man replied.

"Good," Heihachi said. "Deploy them."


	2. Chapter II

**Bold indicates conversation in Japanese.

* * *

**

Lost… again. Buffy was once again lost in a Far East country. It had been three days since she met with Heihachi and got information on Jin's last whereabouts, which were, in effect, practically useless since they were a few years old. It seemed Heihachi had tried his best to keep track of Jin's movements, but Jin seemed particularly adept at keeping them hidden. The last known location, which had been highlighted as a rumour, was Australia. Buffy knew she didn't have time for a wild goose chase and decided to start out somewhere she thought to be insane… his mother's town.

Buffy had thought about the idea for a while now. She knew it was the most crazy place that anyone would think of… which is why it seemed plausible to her; what better way to hide from your only living family than by staying in the place they least expected you to be? That was her reasoning, anyway. She had taken the speedy monorail system to the nearest location of the town. Unfortunately the rest of the way would have to be by taxi, since it was located near the mountains and the service didn't run like any city cab.

As she boarded the train, she started to feel the entire case was all wrong. Something just didn't feel right about it. Breaking out her cell phone, she decided to place a call to South America.

"Hello?"

"Willow, it's Buffy."

"Hey, what's up?" Willow asked. "How's Japan?"

"It's fine, provided you don't get lost," she replied. "Look, Willow, I'm getting a bad feeling about all this. There's something that's making me… uneasy about it."

"You mean you're uneasy about the head of a major corporation contracting you to get his grandson back with little information on his whereabouts, why he poses such a threat, or what he wants him for, while at the same time promising he'll pay us big bucks to do so? Come on, what's so uneasy about that?" she replied facetiously.

"Right," Buffy replied, chuckling. "I'm going to need a favor."

"Sure. What is it?"

"See if you can work some of your computer mojo and find out what these guys are up to."

"Buffy," Willow replied, "we're talking about one of _the _premier technology companies in the world. Trying to hack into it would be like breaking into Fort Knox… on steroids."

"Can't you at least try?"

"'Try' being the operative word there. I'll try, but don't expect much. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't expect anything at all, especially if you need it in a couple of days."

"Just do what you can, Willow. I owe you one."

"Send me a bottle of good saké and we'll call it even."

"Deal," Buffy replied. "Thanks, Willow."

She hopped off the train and went to the taxicab service. The cabs only ran three times a day to the village, since they also had to service two other villages in the area. As she journeyed to the village she got a good look at the scenery along the way. The area was quite picturesque, green trees adorning the sides of the mountains. The mountains themselves went high; she could see the snow as her eyes looked up. She began to think that a place like this would be a nice location to get away from it all. Sure, the area didn't have any five-star hotels or a thriving city scene. But it was out of the way, away from the hustle and bustle (and dangers) of slaying. She even started to entertain the notion of coming back once the job was done. _Just a few weeks_, she thought, _maybe even months…_

The cab stopped in the village square and Buffy exited the car and brought her meager belongings out. She had already paid for the cab at the station but decided to leave a generous tip for the cabbie. Looking around the village square she decided to get to work. It was only the early afternoon and she would have more than enough time to secure reasonable lodgings. Taking out the photograph of Jin, she started to ask the locals. Though she didn't know any Japanese, she knew it would just take a finger pointing in the right direction to get her going.

Most of the people she asked shook their heads at the picture. Granted she only asked about ten people, but her hopes started to fade a little. Buffy reasoned they either didn't know the guy or didn't feel like telling. One man, who seemed to have a less than a secure command of the English language, merely said, "Sorry, no Engrish." She began to think her idea was starting to suck… royally.

* * *

The young man walked his bike near a small waterfall. He had just talked to an American girl, one of the few he'd ever seen upfront and personal, and she was asking about the local recluse. Stopping near the waterfall he saw a bare-chested man punching and kicking while on the rocks at the bottom. Walking his bike down further, he tried to get the man's attention. 

**"Jin! Jin!"**

The man stopped his exercises and looked at the man calling him.

**"Kyoshi! What's up?"**

**"There's someone in town looking for you."**

Jin started to become anxious; he had expected something like this sooner or later and now it looked like 'sooner' had come.

**"Who?"** he asked.

**"I don't know. Some blond girl."**

Jin thought about who it might be and immediately thought of Nina, the assassin. The prospect of her being in town wasn't good and Jin's mind began to race as Kyoshi continued to talk.

**"She sounded American from what I could tell,"** he said.

Jin paused; Nina was Irish, not American...

**"Describe her,"** Jin said.

**"Like I said: blond, American, about this tall,"** he replied as he motioned his hand to indicate the woman's height. **"She was asking about you. Are you breaking hearts overseas or something?"**

Jin listened to the description and knew immediately it wasn't Nina; she was a professional assassin and would never be so careless as to give away her intentions and location so easily. That just left one question: who _was_ looking for him?

**"No, not that I know of,"** Jin replied. **"What did you tell her?"**

**"I told her I didn't speak English. So… what are you going to do?"** Kyoshi asked.

**"Good question."**


	3. Chapter III

Jin started to pack what things he could. He decided right after Kyoshi left that whoever was looking for him he wanted to avoid. He was hoping to participate in another one of Heihachi's tournaments and make a surprise appearance, but no announcement had happened yet. He wanted to stay under the radar until that happened and that wasn't going to be the case if this blonde knew where he was.

As he continued packing he stopped suddenly. He was getting the distinct feeling that he wasn't alone and pretended to return to packing. He walked over to a nearby closet slowly, pretending he was going into his bathroom. Stepping closer and closer, he abruptly jumped in front of the closet and opened it, only to find no one there. It was then that Buffy stepped from behind him.

"Sneaky," Jin said while still looking at the closet.

"I try."

Turning around he looked at the woman and noticed one thing: she was quite attractive. But there was a drawback to that; in his life it was the attractive ones that were the most dangerous.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Name's Buffy."

"Buffy?" Never in his life had he heard that name ever used. Brushing aside the unusual sound of it he asked, "So why are you looking for me… Buffy?"

"Your grandfather sent me to…"

"That's all I needed to know," Jin interrupted before charging at her.

Buffy narrowly dodged the oncoming punch and then got into a fighting stance. She was hoping to avoid a confrontation and now it seemed it was going the exact opposite way.

"Hey! I'm not here to hurt you…" she said.

"Funny how I don't believe you," Jin replied. He launched into a series of punches and kicks against Buffy, hoping to get a good hit in. He didn't particularly like hitting women, but knew that if Heichachi sent her she was no doubt more than capable of handling herself.

Buffy blocked and parried the blows coming at a ferocious speed. She knew the guy was good from what she remembered in the alley years ago, but just how good shocked her. She was trying to counter-punch as best she could and he was meeting them with his own blocks and parries. She desperately wanted to end the fight soon before anyone got hurt.

Jin continued punching and blocking, striking and parrying. None of his strikes landed, but he was gaining ground. He did a double jump front kick, which she blocked. As soon as he landed he spun around and backfisted, which she also blocked. Doing the same thing the other side she repeated the action. He spun one more time, his hand charging up with the power he so rarely used. He was hoping in the flurry of strikes he would catch her off guard.

Buffy had blocked his two backfists, barely, and saw Jin spinning around for another strike. It was then she noticed his hand glowing. Momentarily caught off guard she simply shuffled back and grabbed the arm instead of moving to the side or blocking it.

Jin stood against the girl who was holding his arm at bay. He struggled, straining to punch through and land a hit. Buffy saw the brightness of the hand grow in intensity. Deciding to end the standoff she threw his arm up, releasing it, and did a jump front heel kick to his chest, sending across the room.

Jin was amazed at the power of the kick. _No wonder Heihachi picked her_, he thought. He knew he wasn't going to get past the door without going through her and he had no desire to find out if she was any stronger. He started to think of a way to beat her and then it dawned on him: his judo skills. They were designed to be effective against a stronger opponent. The girl was quite good, but he knew her skills were like a partially polished diamond; effective, but somewhat unrefined compared to years of training. He hoped he could capitalize on that.

Buffy stood, posed and ready for an attack. Jin ran up to her and drew her reaction. As Buffy punched, Jin grabbed her arm and threw her over his shoulder, slamming her into the floor. Jin backed up as Buffy picked herself up. He surprised her, but she was more than ready to continue. Going on the offensive she started to throw punches. Jin blocked them easily and, upon seeing an opening, grabbed Buffy's arm. He turned around and twisted it, making their backs face each other. Using his hips he bent over and once again threw her over his back. She landed on the floor with an audible thud. He backed away again.

Buffy wasn't through yet. She charged at the young man, her fist ready to knock him flat on his back. Just as she was about to connect, or so she thought, Jin moved to the side. Grabbing her arm he used her forward momentum to flip her over and send her back onto the floor.

She was tired of it. She'd eaten floor three times already and was sick and tired of it. Getting up off the floor again, she changed back into her fighting stance. She ran at Jin, who looked prepared to throw her once more. But instead of striking him, she propelled herself into the air and flipped over him, something Jin hadn't expected.

When she landed behind him, Jin turned around only to be greeted by a powerful side kick to his solar plexus. He flew back across the room and collided with a table, demolishing it. He slid on the floor and slammed into the wall.

Buffy immediately regretted the power of her kick. It wasn't so strong as to kill him, but he was going to hurt for a few days. She didn't want to do it, but she was frustrated in her attempts to subdue him and lost control. Still, she accomplished what she wanted and she could live with that. She started to make her way towards him.

"Okay, so are we ready to talk or…?" she started to ask... until Jin looked up. His eyes were red with rage, burning with anger. And his murderous stare was directed at Buffy.

"Okay... this isn't good," Buffy said to herself nervously.

Readying herself for an impending attack she was surprised when a beam of light shot from Jin's eyes. Hitting her diagonally along her chest it burned a trail through her clothing and along her skin. She fell backward in pain, the blast blistering her chest. As she tried to stand and make a way for the door, another beam came and trailed along her back. She screamed again in intense pain and fell to the floor. She looked at the doorway and tried to make it as fast as she could toward it.

Jin looked at the woman and started taking pleasure in her helpless circumstance. But that pleasure soon turned to revulsion as his rational self crept back forward. Recoiling in horror at his actions, he fell to the ground and grabbed in head, muttering, "Control yourself, control yourself, control yourself..." He was lost in the rhythm of its repetition. Looking up from the floor, the last thing he saw before he fell unconscious was Buffy's fist coming toward his face.


	4. Chapter IV

Thanks to all those that reviewed.

**Dilvish:** Trust me... more is in store for our two heroes.

**To all readers: **By the way, this is just a really short story as another diversion from my "Urbs..." series. It takes a lot to try and make a decent story (hopefully I've done well). My main story is still in progress.

**Bold indicates conversation in Japanese**

* * *

Jin moaned as he started to regain consciousness. His jaw hurt and his chest felt extremely sore. As his eyes began to focus, he remembered what had been going on: he had been in a fight with that Buffy person. Regaining full coherency he saw Buffy leaning on a wall and looked down at himself only to see that he was tightly bound to a chair. He looked back at Buffy, not only angry at his present state, but noticing something peculiar. 

"That's my jacket…" he said, "and my shirt."

"I know. Considering the fact that you ruined mine, I'm taking these as compensation."

"Why don't you just kill me and be done with it?" he asked.

"Well, if you'd bothered to listen to me _before_ you attacked me, you would've known that I didn't come here to kill you."

"Like I'd believe that," Jin retorted.

"It's true. Your grandfather hired me to find you and bring you in."

"My grandfather wants me dead," he replied quickly.

"Well, I don't," Buffy replied. "Look, Jin, I haven't had a good feeling about this job since I started it. I only met your grandfather once and I can tell you right now that I don't trust him. I don't like being duped... and my instincts are telling me that I'm being duped."

Jin sat silently as Buffy continued.

"I didn't come here to kill you, and I didn't come here to bring you in either. I came here to give you the heads-up and to get your help in figuring out what Heihachi's up to."

"What?" Jin replied.

"You know him better than I do, and since he has a big interest in you, I figured you'd want in."

"You're serious?" he asked, to which Buffy nodded. "Why should I trust you?"

"Look, if I wanted to kill you I would've done it while you were unconscious. So... do we have a deal?"

Jin looked at her curiously. She was serious about teaming up against Heihachi and seemed genuine. But that wasn't the only reason for his curiosity. She looked strangely familiar, like he'd seen her before…

"Fine then," he said. "Deal."

"Good. Now let's get you out of those ropes."

Jin's hand glowed momentarily and he snapped the ropes like they were strings. Buffy stood there stunned.

"You mean you could've gotten out of those at any time?" she asked. "Why did you just sit there?"

"I figured I'd wait and take advantage of the fact that you didn't kill me yet," he replied. "But you seem to be a decent person. I think I can trust you… for now."

"That's a start, at least," Buffy replied. "Let's get ready to move out. The sooner we get back the sooner we can figure out what's going on."

Jin started to gather his belongings for the trip he was planning since Buffy's arrival. Among the scattered remnants of what was his bedroom, picked up what things he could and shoved them into his bag.

"You planned on leaving anyway?" she asked.

"Yeah, when I heard someone was looking for me." Jin began to stare the young woman as he packed.

"What is it?" Buffy asked as she noticed the stare.

"You look… familiar. Like I've seen you before," he said.

"Try an alley in Seoul a few years back. You were fighting some guy with red hair."

It suddenly hit him and he momentarily stopped packing. "You were the girl in the alley!" he exclaimed. "Huh... I always wondered what happened to you."

"When I saw your eyes glow red in that alley, I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me. Now I know better."

"It's not something I'm really happy with," he replied as he went back to packing his things. "Hand me the gloves in that drawer," he said, motioning behind Buffy.

Buffy turned around and opened the drawer, looking for a pair of gloves. "I don't see any…" she started to say.

Jin hit her on the back of the head with a table leg, rendering Buffy unconscious. Grabbing his bag and keys, he knelt down to her and said, "I'm sorry, Buffy. You sound sincere, but this is a family matter." Walking out the door, he uncovered his motorcycle, started it up, and sped off just as Buffy began to wake.

In truth, she expected something like this to occur; she just didn't know when. Jin had accepted her offer much too quickly and she was wary of him. As she got up, she heard the motorcycle engine rev up. She walked outside, her head slightly aching, only to see Jin speed off.

Looking around for something, anything, to catch up to him, her eyes fell on a bicycle. She hopped onto it and followed him.

Jin sped though the trail leading to his house, closing in on the village square. His bike didn';t have enough fuel for the journey, so he was hoping to get a cab to the train station to get to Heihachi and figure out what his grandfather was up to. He'd called Buffy for a reason, something deeper than just finding him; Heihachi always had an ulterior motive for doing things.

He made it to the cab station in time. Seeing Kyoshi, he got off his bike and quickly went over to the man.

**"Kyoshi, here's my bike,"** Jin said. **"If I'm not back in a week, it's yours."**

**"Really?"** replied an exciting Kyoshi. **"Thanks, Jin!"  
**

Jin talked to the cabbie and put his bag in the trunk. Getting in, he was satisfied that he had made a clean getaway from the woman who had, moments ago, knocked his lights out.

* * *

Buffy sped as fast as she could down the trail on Jin's bicycle. She was coming up on the village square when she saw a cab preparing to leave town. Guessing it was probably Jin, she diverted off the path and down a hill, eying the roof of a small building near it. Getting closer and closer and gaining speed, she jumped the bike onto the roof, ran down on the slight incline, and then jumped the end of the roof . She let go of the bike and landed her body on top of the cab just as it started to accelerate. The surprised cabbie slammed the brakes. 

Getting off the roof, Buffy opened the cab door, grabbed Jin, and shoved him against the side of the car.

"What part of 'working together' didn't you get!" she yelled furiously.

"This is family business, Buffy, and you aren't a part of it!"

"Wrong. I _am involved_ and so are the people I care about; we got involved the minute Heihachi called me. So we can either work together or we can fight each other until your grandfather does whatever he's planning on doing!"

Jin's temper had risen during the argument, but subsided as soon as he realized he wasn't getting rid of her. "Fine," he replied. "Have it your way."

The cabbie yelled at them both in Japanese. Throwing Jin's stuff out of the car he got back in and sped off.

"Great, now the cab's gone," Jin said.

"And whose fault is that?"

"Yours, for landing on the roof and busting the light. You seem to have a knack for breaking things, my house being one of them."

"I guess I'll have to stay here tonight," Buffy said, slightly miffed at her circumstances.

"Come on," Jin replied as he grabbed his bag off of the ground.

"Where are we going?"

"My place. You can stay there for the night," he replied, before thinking how it sounded.

"Yeah, right."

"Look, you have to go back to my place and get your bag anyway," he said. "And besides, what better way to keep an eye on me?"

"Fine," she said. "But you'd better not try anything funny."

"Wouldn't dream of it."


	5. Chapter V

**Once again, thanks for all the reviews.**

**And since I'm of very few words, on to the show...  
**

**

* * *

** Buffy and Jin, along with Jin's motorcycle and the remnants of what had been a usable bike, made it back up the hills to his house. He had rebuilt it some time after coming back from Australia, but it was never the same size as before when he and his mother lived there, nor did it have the same substance. Still, it was his home for the time being, and he was glad to be there, at peace. Well, it w_as_ peaceful until Buffy had to wreck it. Had he known she was so destructive he would have at least fought her outside, where the only things to get damage would be the trees. _Then again_, he thought, _she would have probably ended up wrecking my bike._

They had been silent along the way there, Buffy still angry about the lump on the back of her head from the table leg. She was also trying to focus on making it to the house with her back and chest in pain. The adrenaline from the chase had dulled it, but the pain came back in full force when she landed on the cab. She knew that some of the blisters had opened and could feel it under her shirt.

Arriving at the house Jin started to rearrange the room and pick up the broken and scattered pieces of table and other items. Putting some stuff away he finally decided to talk to Buffy, since she was going to be staying there and all. But Buffy got out the first words. "So… how are going to arrange this? There's only one bed."

"You can have it," Jin replied.

"What?"

"I said you can have it. I've been in worse situations."

"Oh, no," Buffy said. "You don't get to be Mr. Chivalrous after that stunt you pulled. You can have it."

"No, you can have it."

"No, you can," Buffy replied.

"Look, how about we flip for it?" Jin asked as he pulled out a coin.

"Fine."

Jin flipped the coin in the air and called 'heads'. The coin landed on the floor and, much to Buffy's secret relief, it landed on the face of the coin.

"There. It's settled," Jin said. He then went to the closet to get his sleeping bag. When he came back in, Buffy was going to pick up her bag when she winced in pain. Jin noticed and immediately asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Buffy replied. Skeptically, Jin went over to her, his curiosity winning out. Buffy moved away from him and repeated, "It's nothing."

"Doesn't sound like nothing," he said. He reached out to her shoulder and Buffy pulled away quickly. But Jin, however, would not relent and slowly pulled the shirt collar far enough to see her collarbone and shoulder. There he saw a mass of blisters in a reddish streak. His face fell and the sight and at the realization there was another streak going across her back.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"I told you it's nothing," Buffy replied. "I'll be fine in a few days. I've got bandages and stuff for things like this."

"Sit down," he ordered.

"Huh?"

"Sit down," he repeated as he pulled up a chair. He went into his bathroom and came out about two minutes later with a bottle, bandages, a small bowl, and a towel.

"I told you I have something for it," Buffy reiterated.

"But this is better for it. The stuff in here promotes healing and will ease the pain. Turn around."

Buffy did so reluctantly, her back facing him. She lifted the back of her shirt over head and exposed the other red streak from Jin's blast. Jin sat the bed and faced her back. Looking at the angry wound he was immediately regretful. He had lost control of his dangerous power and could have killed her if he didn't reign himself in. He felt it was all the more reason to extinguish his entire line and wipe the name of Mishima from the face of the earth. He reached out his hand and touched the wound with his fingers, to which Buffy winced again.

"I'm really sorry I hurt you," he said again.

"I've had worse," she replied. "Granted they didn't sting as much."

Jin poured some of the liquid into the bowl and tore some strips of the bandages. Dipping one in he soaked it thoroughly. He held it up to Buffy's back and said, "This may sting for a second." He put the strip lightly across her back wound and Buffy grimaced. After a few seconds, though, the sting went away only to be replaced by a deep cooling sensation. He wiped the excess liquid with the towel gently, which Buffy somewhat shivered at. It wasn't that the towel was cold, it was just that the touch of it was so soft that it tickled her back. Jin dipped another strip and laid it across another portion of the wound.

Buffy was feeling awkward. Just moments ago she was having an all-out brawl with the guy and now he was mending her. A hot guy with a killer body was tending to her. Yeah, she had noticed he was good-looking, but she wasn't here for his looks, as nice as they were. When she saw him in the alley in Seoul, she thought to herself that he was quite the handsome guy. But she'd just broken up with Angel and didn't want to deal with anyone for awhile.

She was a tad confused about Jin helping to patch her up, but figured that he wanted her to be in tip-top form if they were taking on his grandfather. Nevertheless, she was feeling awkward about the scenario and decided to make small talk to pass the time.

"So… you normally patch up young women in your house?" She knew it sounded lame.

Jin smiled slightly. "No. My mother taught me this. She learned it from her father. We'd use it when we got injuries from training."

"She must have been pretty good, seeing as how you threw me around like a rag doll," Buffy remarked.

"She was the best," he said solemnly. "I miss her sometimes. Half the time I wonder what she'd do if she were here." He laid another strip on her back slowly and wiped the excess with the towel.

"I lost my mother too, a few years ago."

"I'm sorry," Jin said. He was surprised; he seemed to have more in common with the girl than he thought before. He wet one more strip and laid it across her back. "There. How does that feel?"

"Um… good. It's cool."

"Herbs help soothe the burn," Jin replied. "There's, uh, one more wound across your chest…" He was nervous to mention that fact.

"Right…" Buffy said, feeling a little awkward herself. "I, uh, think I'll handle that."

"The bathroom's there," he said, pointing toward it. He handed he the bowl, bottle, towel, and bandages. As Buffy walked toward the bathroom, she turned to him and said tenderly, "Um… Jin?"

"Yes?"

She looked at his eyes, soft and yet hardened by circumstances that tested his resolve. He had so much compassion, even for his foes. It was a quality she admired in people. His handsome features didn't hurt either.

Smiling, Buffy replied softly, "You can put my PDA _back_ in my bag."

Jin smiled. "You saw that, huh?"

"Yep. Got to give you points for effort and stuff, especially the gentle talk and the soft touch to get me off my guard. You really are a single-focused guy, aren't you? You tried to get the coordinates of the meeting location."

"I had to try something," he replied, smirking. He took the PDA out of his pocket and put it back in her bag.

"Well, charm really isn't your strong point," she said. "I'll see you in a few."

Jin prepared his sleeping bag as Buffy tended to the rest of her wounds. After she was done, she fetched her sleepwear and went back in the bathroom to put in them on. Coming out she climbed into the bed and turned out the light.

"Buffy?"

"Yeah?" she replied.

"…Did you _really _lose your mother a few years back?"

"Yes. It was pretty hard on me and my sister."

"And… you really want to help me find out what my grandfather's up to?" he asked. He was still a little skeptical of her; Heihachi had welcomed him with open arms, and then put a bullet in his head after he was through with him. To say he had some trust issues was putting it mildly.

"Yeah," Buffy said, sensing his apprehension.

"Hmm…" Jin replied.

"I'll see you in the morning… and don't think I won't hear if you try and sneak out."

"Good night, Buffy."

"Good night, Jin."


End file.
